The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, spoke this Saturday (31), by telephone, with the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio. According to a note from Itamaraty, the two spoke about foreign trade and cooperation in the area of security.
Without going into details, Itamaraty also reported that the two chancellors discussed details about the visit to Washingtonin March, by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, announced last week. The date has not yet been announced.
Direct contact between foreign ministers also occurs in the wake of the discomfort caused by the so-called Peace Council, a collegial body designed, created and chaired by the American president to manage the future of the Gaza Strip and other territories.
At the same time as he seeks rapprochement with Trump, especially with regard to bilateral and world trade, Lula has supported Brazil’s historic position of defending the United Nations (UN) as the main multilateral political body.
Lula was one of the leaders invited to take a seat on the council, but has not yet responded to the invitation. Last week, at an event in Salvador, he even criticized the proposal to create the Peace Council.
The call between chancellors also occurs shortly after Lula and Trump spoke by phone, last Monday (26). According to Palácio do Planalto, the president defended a reform of the UN Security Council, a historic agenda for Brazil.
Another subject debated by the leaders was Venezuela. According to what was released by Planalto, Lula expressed to Trump the need to maintain peace in the region. The two also want to advance cooperation in combating transnational organized crime.
Brazil has put on the table the need to move forward in freezing the assets of criminal organizations and in the greater exchange of financial information between countries.
Security in the region is a topic dear to Trump, especially the fight against drug trafficking. Since coming to power, the American president has significantly increased the military presence in the region, which culminated in the kidnapping, on January 3, of the then Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, by US troops.
Tariff
Although other topics have gained greater notoriety in recent weeks, the main backdrop to the meeting between Lula and Trump continues to be the taxation of Brazilian products imposed by the White House.
In August last year, by order of Trump, the US government imposed a 50% tax on all Brazilian products, with the exception of around 700 items.
After meetings between Lula and Trump at international events, the tariff on another 238 Brazilian products was dropped, but others continue to face extra taxation in relation to what they paid before. Since then, products such as machinery, furniture and shoes have continued to be taxed
